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Illinois Compiled Statutes

40 ILCS 5/18-129 (2026)

Refund of contributions; repayment

✓ current as of May 2026
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(40 ILCS 5/18-129) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 18-129)
    Sec. 18-129. Refund of contributions; repayment.
    (a) A participant who ceases to be a judge may, upon application to the Board, receive a refund of his or her total contributions to the System including the contributions made towards the automatic increase in retirement annuity and contributions for the survivor's annuity, without interest, provided he or she is not then immediately eligible to receive a retirement annuity.
    Upon receipt of a refund, the applicant shall cease to be a participant and shall thereupon relinquish all rights in the System. However, upon again becoming a participant, the judge shall receive credit for all previous judicial service upon payment to the System of the amount refunded together with interest at 4% per annum from the time of the refund to the date of repayment.
    (b) Upon death of a participant who did not become an annuitant, where no spouse or other beneficiaries eligible for an annuity survive, the participant's designated beneficiary or estate shall be entitled to a refund of his or her total contributions to the System, including contributions made towards the automatic increase in retirement annuity and contributions for the survivor's annuity, without interest.
    (c) Upon death of an annuitant, where no spouse or other beneficiaries eligible for an annuity survive, the designated beneficiary or estate shall receive a refund of the contributions made for the survivor's annuity, without interest. If the annuitant received annuity payments in the aggregate less than his or her contributions for retirement annuity and the contributions towards the automatic increase in the retirement annuity, the designated beneficiary or estate shall also be refunded the difference between the total of such contributions, excluding interest, and the sum of annuity payments made.
    (d) A participant or annuitant whose marriage is terminated by death or dissolution, an unmarried participant, and an annuitant who was not married while he or she was a judge shall, upon application to the Board, receive a refund of his or her contributions for the survivor's annuity, without interest. Upon the issuance of a refund under this subsection, the recipient's credit for survivor's annuity purposes shall terminate and the recipient shall not thereafter make contributions for survivor's annuity, except in accordance with subsection (f) or (g). Upon the death of a participant or annuitant who received such a refund, any eligible children shall nevertheless be entitled to the child's annuities provided in Section 18-128.01.
    (e) Upon the death of a surviving spouse who, together with the deceased judge, did not receive annuity payments in the aggregate equal to the judge's total contributions to the System, the estate of the surviving spouse shall be refunded the difference between the total payments and total contributions, excluding interest.
    (f) Upon marriage or remarriage, a participant or annuitant shall receive full credit for survivor's annuity purposes upon:
        (1) in the case of a participant, making the
    
contributions required under Section 18-123 beginning on the date of the marriage or remarriage;
        (2) repaying in full any survivor's annuity
    
contributions that have been refunded; and
        (3) making survivor's annuity contributions for the
    
period of participation during which he or she was unmarried, together with interest thereon at 3% per annum.
    The time and manner of making such repayments shall be prescribed by the Board.
    (g) Upon marriage or remarriage, a participant who does not make the payments required for full survivor's annuity credit under subsection (f) may receive partial credit for survivor's annuity by making survivor's annuity contributions under Section 18-123 beginning on the date of the marriage or remarriage.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the survivor's annuity (but not any child's annuity) payable under this Article on behalf of a deceased person with only partial credit for survivor's annuity shall be reduced by multiplying the amount of the survivor's annuity that would have been payable if the person had full credit by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months of service for which survivor's annuity contributions have been credited in this System, and the denominator of which is the total number of months of service in this System.
(Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 2001–2015 · leading case: Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys., 768 N.E.2d 26 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001).
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Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys., 768 N.E.2d 26 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). · cites it 6× “It was the Board's determination that subsection (c) of section 18-129 (40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) (West 1992)), as opposed to subsection (a) (40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose benefits are terminated as the result of a…”
Shields v. State Employees Ret. Sys., 844 N.E.2d 438 (Ill. App. Ct. 2006). · cites it 3× “The supreme court did not address the issue of interest, but noted that the Board did not originally award interest "since section 18-129© [of the Pension Code (40 ILCS 5/18-129©) (West 1992)] specifically provides that refunds should be computed `without interest.”
Bassett v. Pekin Police Pension Bd., 839 N.E.2d 130 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “However, because none of the provisions of section 18-129 addressed the situation where benefits have been forfeited due to a felony conviction, the Shields court ruled that section 18-129 had no application to those circumstances.”
Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys. (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). · cites it 6× “It was the Board's determination that subsection (c) of section 18-129 (40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) (West 1992)), as opposed to subsection (a) (40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose benefits are terminated as the result of a…”
Ebner v. Beatty (In re Beatty), 541 B.R. 428 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2015). · cites it 2× “40 ILCS 5/18-129(c). 2 This refund would be in the form of a lump sum payment payable upon the death of the member.”
Bassett v.Pekin Police Pension Bd. (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “See 40 ILCS 5/18-129(a)-(g) (West 2002). However, because none of the provisions of section 18-129 addressed the situation where benefits have been forfeited due to a felony conviction, the Shields court ruled that section 18-129 had no application to those circumstances.”
Phelan v. Vill. of LaGrange Park Police Pension Fund (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). “In Shields, the pension board determined that subsection (c) rather than subsection (a) of section 18-129 of the Judges Retirement System of Illinois (System) (40 ILCS 5/18-129 (a), (c) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose pension benefits…”
Shields v. State (Ill. App. Ct. 2006). “See 40 ILCS 5/18-129 (West 2002); Shields II, 204 Ill.”
— 40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) — 4 cases
Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys., 768 N.E.2d 26 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). “It was the Board's determination that subsection (c) of section 18-129 (40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) (West 1992)), as opposed to subsection (a) (40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose benefits are terminated as the result of a…”
Bassett v. Pekin Police Pension Bd., 839 N.E.2d 130 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “However, because none of the provisions of section 18-129 addressed the situation where benefits have been forfeited due to a felony conviction, the Shields court ruled that section 18-129 had no application to those circumstances.”
Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys. (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). “It was the Board's determination that subsection (c) of section 18-129 (40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) (West 1992)), as opposed to subsection (a) (40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose benefits are terminated as the result of a…”
Bassett v.Pekin Police Pension Bd. (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “See 40 ILCS 5/18-129(a)-(g) (West 2002). However, because none of the provisions of section 18-129 addressed the situation where benefits have been forfeited due to a felony conviction, the Shields court ruled that section 18-129 had no application to those circumstances.”
— 40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) — 3 cases
Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys., 768 N.E.2d 26 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). “It was the Board's determination that subsection (c) of section 18-129 (40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) (West 1992)), as opposed to subsection (a) (40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose benefits are terminated as the result of a…”
Shields v. Judges' Ret. Sys. (Ill. App. Ct. 2001). “It was the Board's determination that subsection (c) of section 18-129 (40 ILCS 5/18-129(c) (West 1992)), as opposed to subsection (a) (40 ILCS 5/18-129(a) (West 1992)), applied to the calculation of a refund for an annuitant whose benefits are terminated as the result of a…”
Ebner v. Beatty (In re Beatty), 541 B.R. 428 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2015). “40 ILCS 5/18-129(c). 2 This refund would be in the form of a lump sum payment payable upon the death of the member.”
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